Supalai eyes annual growth of 15% through till 2019

PROPERTY DEVELOPER Supalai has set a five-year target of doubling its presales and total revenue to Bt45 billion and Bt36 billion, respectively, by 2019, via average annual growth of 15 per cent during the period, president Prateep Tangmatitham said yesterday.

To achieve the growth goal, the company plans to invest between Bt15 billion and Bt20 billion a year, with up to 35 per cent of the budget going towards the purchase of undeveloped land and the remainder being spent on construction of infrastructure and residential projects, he said.

The listed company also plans to launch between 28 and 30 new projects, worth up to Bt30 billion combined, each year during the period.

More than half of the investment budget will come from the company's cash flow, and the remainder from bank borrowings and debenture issuance, he said.

"Our growth strategy is to average 15 per cent a year, a level that is sustainable for us to do business, based on the country's economy expanding by 3.5 per cent to 5 per cent a year," Prateep explained.

Last year, Supalai recorded presales of Bt19.4 billion, overall revenue of Bt18.67 billion and a net profit of Bt4.47 billion, up 4 per cent, 46 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively, from 2013 levels.

The company targets presales of Bt23 billion and revenue growth of 15 per cent this year.

Presales income will come from existing residential projects and 28 projects worth Bt31.1 billion combined that will be launched over the course of the year.

Up to 30 per cent of this year's new projects will be located in the provinces, including in Hat Yai, in Songkhla province, said the company chief.

Supalai has set aside an investment budget of about Bt17 billion for the year, Bt6 billion of which is for buying undeveloped land and the rest for spending on infrastructure and the construction of housing set to be delivered to customers during the year.

More than half of the budget will come from cash flow, and the rest in the form of bank borrowings and a debenture of between Bt2 billion and Bt3 billion to be issued during the year, said deputy managing director Tritecha Tangmatitham.

In Hat Yai, the company's 49.9 per cent-owned subsidiary, Had Yai Nakarin, plans to launch two detached-housing projects worth up to Bt1 billion combined this year.

This will boost the unit's overall revenue to Bt850 million, nearly double last year's Bt450 million.

Supalai had a backlog of Bt38 billion at the end of last year, Bt15 billion of which will be booked as revenue this year.

Prateep said the developer's investment plan for 2015-2019 is to expand both domestically and overseas, following its successful forays into the Philippines and Australia over the past two years.

"We see business potential overseas, having generated a return of investment of more than 20 per cent in Australia and rental income of 7 per cent to 8 per cent a year in the Philippines," he said.

The overseas investment plan will focus on Asean countries such as Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia, he added.

Supalai's investment policy for overseas markets is to spend an average of 10 per cent of its total asset value, which is currently more than Bt30 billion.

This means the company has an investment budget of up to Bt3 billion for this purpose, but to date has spent only Bt1 billion on investing in Australia and the Philippines.

"We still have room to expand our investment abroad by up to Bt2 billion this year and next," he added.